Labor preselects human rights law professor to run in federal seat of North Sydney

Labor has preselected a human rights lawyer with deep roots in the party to run against Liberal moderate Trent Zimmerman in North Sydney, in what promises to become a fascinating three corner race for the federal seat.

On Tuesday, Labor will announce that Catherine Renshaw, a professor of law at the University of Western Sydney specialising in human rights, will run for the lower north shore seat.

Labor has never held North Sydney, but it was represented by independent Ted Mack in the 1990s for six years and a community endorsed independent, Kylea Tink, is running this year.

The presence of a third strong candidate in the seat is likely to make for a lively contest where local community forums will play an important role.

Renshaw went to school in North Sydney and lives in Northbridge. She joined the Labor party 25 years ago and is married to John Renshaw, whose father, Jack Renshaw, was a Labor premier of New South Wales.

The party is buoyed by its strong showing in the local government elections in North Sydney council and Lane Cove council, which have a large crossover with the federal seat.

Insiders say the challenges are unlikely to be successful, but indicate the factional manoeuvring within the NSW Liberal party. Factional plays have held up NSW Liberal nominations for nine months, leaving a raft of key seats without candidates.

Local Labor strategists argue that North Sydney is a blue ribbon Liberal seat because Labor has failed to make it a contest in the past and the seat is home to many progressive voters.

The fact that Labor is putting up a fight is also likely to help Tink, though she needs to come at least second on primary votes to stand any chance of winning the seat. Labor has not yet decided on preferences, but is almost certain to preference Tink ahead of the Liberals.

Labor adopted a similar strategy in Wentworth in the 2018 byelection and in the 2019 general election, running high profile local Tim Murray as its candidate. Murray ran a strong campaign on a low budget, often making his mark at local debates.

Labor also secured two councillors in North Sydney while the conservative representation fell. On Monday, Zoe Baker, an independent, was elected mayor with Labor and independent support.